


renew

by unsungillumination



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, M/M, No Spoilers, goro's birthday, no plot just a peaceful moment, spoiler free
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 05:37:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14826344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsungillumination/pseuds/unsungillumination
Summary: goro's always liked the evening rain.





	renew

**Author's Note:**

> the canon timeline happens between goro's birthdays, so this doesn't fall anywhere in canon. i have no idea when it happens. i have no idea what circumstances led up to it or what universe this is in. look just take it i want them to be happy

   It’s raining tonight.

   The strung lights in the trees turn the puddles to silver on the pavement; the water forming something like an extra dimension beneath him. It stretches endlessly into the night sky.

   There are no stars to see, not in the city, but he sees the rain as it falls to earth: sees its reflection fall up to meet it as it ripples. He sees the trees, stretching twice from their roots, the lights distorted and a little unreal in the surface of the rain until they form an unsteady web across the ground. And he sees the moon.

   For once, the park is almost empty – there aren’t many who would think to come here now, with rain pouring down from the darkened sky. But Goro doesn’t mind it. Maybe he pulls his coat a little tighter around his shoulders as he shivers in the chill. But there’s a serenity to the air at night, a silence to the sky; and in the not-so-cosy quiet of the gazebo he’s seated in, surrounded by the gentle lighting in the trees and the slowly pooling mirrors at his feet, it’s easy to reflect.

    He looks up, surprised, when he hears the approaching footsteps.

   Startled gray eyes blink back at him, shining a little in the lights. The footsteps stop abruptly, and water drips from Ren’s fringe onto his glasses as he stands there in the rain.

   “Hey,” says Ren. “You’re… here.”

   “Ren,” says Goro. “…Hello. What are you doing here?”

   “I was,” says Ren. “Out. Doing something. I thought I’d stop by the park before I went home.”

   “Doing something,” Goro echoes. “It’s quite late, you know. Not to mention it’s raining rather heavily.”

   “Yeah,” says Ren. “So what’s your excuse?”

   He’s still standing in the rain, soaked bag clutched to his side. Thankfully Morgana doesn’t seem to have taken residence in it tonight. Goro can’t imagine the cat would have taken particularly kindly to Ren’s decisions.

   “I like being out at night,” Goro says by way of explanation. “It’s peaceful. Would you – do you want to come inside?”

   “Oh,” says Ren, like he’s not yet realised that he’s dripping wet. “Sure.”

   He steps into the gazebo and takes a seat next to Goro on the bench. His bag leaves a puddle on the floor. The rest of him leaves puddles everywhere else. Goro pretends not to notice. “You didn’t bring an umbrella,” he says instead.

   “I forgot. Can I borrow yours?” asks Ren. “If we walk back to the station together, I mean.”

   “…I forgot too,” Goro confesses, embarrassed.

   Ren laughs, not unkindly, and Goro smiles at him.

   They sit quietly for another moment, watching the rain. Not looking at him, Ren says, “Would you like me to leave?”

   Goro shoots him a confused glance. “I… No, it’s fine. Why do you ask?”

   “You look like you came here to be alone,” Ren says, still addressing the rain. “I don’t mind if you want me to go.”

   “Oh,” says Goro. And then, softer, “No, it’s all right.”

   “You sure?”

   “Yes,” says Goro. “You’re correct, I did come here for the solitude, but… Somehow I don’t mind your company. Actually, I might be glad for it.”

   Ren smiles slightly. “I’m happy to hear it,” he says in his quiet voice. “Can I ask if everything’s okay?”

   “Oh, yes,” says Goro. “I just find it’s nice to be alone with my thoughts sometimes. The rain at night provides a rather pleasant… soothing atmosphere for reflection. Don’t you think?”

   Ren nods.

   “You’re not a disruptive presence, though,” Goro says. “In some ways, I find your company quite comfortable.”

   “Thank you,” says Ren. “I like spending time with you, too.”

   Goro blinks. That’s… not what he said, but somehow it’s not wrong, either.

   Comfortable quiet regains its hold on the evening and Goro gazes out at the park, listening to the pattering of the rain on the roof, the pavement, the soil. The air is cool and calm, but something about the fresh smell of the rain brings him a kind of relaxed comfort that fills him with a peaceful sort of vitality.

   “Happy birthday, by the way,” Ren murmurs, barely audible over the rain, and Goro looks at him in surprise.

   “How did you know?” he asks.

   Ren hesitates only for a split second before admitting, “Saw it in a tabloid.”

   Goro laughs. “I didn’t know you were a fan.”

   “Oh, yes,” Ren says, deadpan and earnest. “Your biggest.”

   “Would you like an autograph?” and this time Ren laughs.

   “I’d like a picture,” he says, with just a hint of teasing in his tone. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, Akechi-senpai.”

   “Of course not,” Goro says in his most charming Celebrity Voice, and Ren laughs again and takes out his phone.

   The selfie they take is, by all aesthetic standards, terrible. What little lighting there is comes from the fairy lights in the trees, and it leaves them looking strange and shadowy in a comfortably ominous way.

   It’s nice. Ren’s eyes are soft, his face tilted a little towards Goro, and the dimness of the photograph leaves Goro’s million-watt smile looking almost gentle.

   Ren pockets his phone. “Thank you,” he says.

   “Anything for my fans,” Goro replies, and Ren laughs yet again, and Goro might even prefer the sound to the rain.

   “I’ll send it to you later,” says Ren.

   “Please do.”

   “Have you had a nice birthday?”

   “It’s been quiet,” says Goro, “but I like it that way. I received some well-wishes from my colleagues, and a fair few nice messages from my fans, too. That’s more than enough to make me happy.”

   “I got you a present,” says Ren. Goro looks startled. “I don’t. Have it with me. I didn’t think I would see you today.”

   He looks a little crestfallen. Still a little taken aback, Goro says, “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

   Ren shrugs.

   “It’s small,” he says. “I wanted to know if you’d like to go to a theme park with me.”

   “A theme park?” asks Goro. “Is that the present?”

   “No. Something else. Do you want to come? Tomorrow?”

   “I’d love to,” says Goro, before he has a chance to think about it. “Ah… Thank you.”

   Ren nods. His eyes are a little crinkly behind the glasses, like he’s smiling.

   “Do you want to head back to the station?” he asks.

   Goro considers. “I think I’ll stay a little longer,” he says, and Ren nods. “Don’t feel obligated to wait for me.”

   “No,” says Ren, “I’ll stay with you.”

   There are still a few water droplets caught in Ren’s lashes and they glitter slightly in the pale moonlight, his face upturned to the sky.

   “If that’s not a bother,” Ren adds.

   Goro smiles and turns to watch the moon through the easing rain.

   “No,” he says. “Not at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm mid-finals right now so i wrote this in about twenty minutes and it's barely edited, but i desperately need to get over my perfectionism so here it is! i want to be able to write and post more, even if it's just little things like this. don't take it too seriously. <3
> 
> i just wanted to give them a bit of a peaceful moment together and maybe evoke a sense of calm and some good vibes. plus, it's goro's birthday and he means a lot to me so i shoved him into the pouring rain. that's how you show love right
> 
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